6 hrs ago
Telangana District Leads India as Women Comprise 78% Informal Workers
A new government report measured informal work across India’s districts.
Informal work includes many small businesses and jobs outside large registered companies.
Nirmal district in Telangana had the largest share of women workers, at 78 percent.
In Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, women made up only 6.7 percent.
The districts with the most women workers were mainly in southern and north-eastern India.
However, districts with many women workers often paid less.
The report also found that women owned nearly 80 percent of proprietary establishments in Nirmal.
The information is intended to help policymakers understand local economies more clearly.
Nirmal district in Telangana has the country’s highest share of women among informal workers, at 78%.
The 10 districts with the highest female participation are all in Telangana, Manipur, Meghalaya or Mizoram.
Rudraprayag in Uttarakhand ranks lowest, with women accounting for 6.7% of informal workers.
Women make up at least half of the informal workforce in only 25 districts, compared with an all-India average of 29%.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released district-level estimates covering 757 districts from the 2025 Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises.
- Who
- The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, analyzed by The Indian Express, reported on women in India’s informal workforce.
- What
- The report provided district-level estimates of informal workers, establishments, ownership and earnings, including the share of women workers.
- Where
- Across 757 districts in India, with Nirmal in Telangana recording the highest female share and Rudraprayag in Uttarakhand the lowest.
- When
- The data was released on Thursday and was based on the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises for 2025.
- Why
- The data is intended to provide a more detailed understanding of local economic conditions for evidence-based policymaking.
Key facts
- Highest female workforce share
- Nirmal district, Telangana: 78% of informal workers are women.
- Lowest female workforce share
- Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand: 6.7% of informal workers are women.
- All-India average
- Women account for 29% of informal workers nationally.
- District coverage
- The report provides data for 757 districts.
- Survey source
- Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises, 2025.
- Informal establishments
- The number of unincorporated establishments rose to 7.92 crore in 2025.
- Largest worker concentration
- North 24 Parganas in West Bengal had 21.3 lakh informal workers and 16.6 lakh establishments.
Quotes
Geeta Singh Rathore
Director General of MoSPI’s National Sample Survey
“Given the diversity of economic activities and local conditions across the country, there is an increasing need for statistics that provide a more granular understanding of the sector for evidence-based policymaking”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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